KFTC Set for “One Family Under Three Roofs” in Sejong, Regional Offices to Lease More Space with 9 Billion Won Reserve Fund Injection

Relocations and Space Expansion for Sejong Headquarters and Regional Offices
Establishment of New Task Forces, Including the Major Investigation Planning Task Force and Economic Analysis Bureau

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) will cover costs incurred from the additional leasing of office spaces for both its Sejong headquarters and regional offices with reserve funds.

The KFTC announced on the 11th that a proposal for increased lease expenses following the enforcement of the new organizational structure effective October 1 had been approved by the Cabinet. This support measure is in response to the upcoming second phase of organizational restructuring on October 1, which will add 237 personnel, following an increase of 167 employees in the first quarter of this year. Once these two rounds of hiring are complete, the KFTC’s workforce will rise from 647 before the current administration took office to 1,052—a 62.6% increase, or 405 additional staff members.

This round of reserves will be concentrated on securing new office spaces for the Sejong headquarters and regional offices nationwide. With Government Complex Sejong Building 2 now at full capacity, roughly 100 employees from the Market Surveillance Bureau will be relocated next month to a separate external space, the Bank Building in Eojin-dong. Previously, in March, the Corporate Merger Review Bureau relocated to the Dankook Sejong Building in Eojin-dong, across from the main headquarters. Now, with the Market Surveillance Bureau also moving out, the KFTC will enter an era of “one family under three roofs” within Sejong.

Supporting lease expenses for regional offices is another key use of these reserve funds. About 70 employees—or approximately 30% of those added in the second phase—will be assigned to local offices in Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, and Daejeon. The Busan office, having reached full capacity, will lease an additional, separate building, and other regional offices will also undergo internal space redesigns to accommodate the increased staff.

Meanwhile, the KFTC’s second phase of restructuring will also see the establishment of a “Major Investigation Planning Task Force” of 40 personnel to handle structurally significant cases. In addition, the former economic analysis function—previously at the department level—will be expanded and reorganized as an “Economic Analysis Bureau” with 37 staff members. A new investigative training department consisting of 11 personnel will also be created to take charge of training new and existing employees in investigative techniques and legal principles. The second phase of the new structure is set to be implemented starting in the fourth quarter, once staff assignments and office space preparations are completed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.